5

Pipe In the Filling

Securely twist the pastry bag until it's taut; snip off the tip of the bag and deposit the filling in the wells of the cupcakes by twisting the top of the bag to apply pressure and pipe out the filling.

If frosting the cupcakes after filling, leave about 1/4-inch headroom in each cupcake. Slice off all but the top 1/4 inch of the reserved cupcake centers to make a thinner disc, and then nestle them on top of the filled centers, pressing them in until they're roughly flush with the cupcake tops. Proceed with piping frosting.